Category: Physics

Reflecting Telescope Sources:

http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Reflect.html

http://www.northern-stars.com/reflecting_telescopes.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002040F/refracting_and_reflecting_telescopes.htm

http://www.scopecity.com/reflectors-meade.htm

Reflecting Telescopes:

Reflecting Telescopes are used to view sky objects such as planets, the moon, star clusters, galaxies, nebulae, and multiple star systems.

Components:

Hollow Tube – Provides the structure of the telescope

Glass Lens – Allows source light into the tube

Parabolic Concave Mirror – Reflects source light to focal point

Secondary Flat Mirror – Reflects light at focal point to eyepiece

Eyepiece – Light and image is reflected here

Focuser – Adjusts the focus of the image at eyepiece

Refracting Telescope Sources:

http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/Telescope.html

http://www.northern-stars.com/refracting_telescopes.htm

http://library.thinkquest.org/J002040F/refracting_and_reflecting_telescopes.htm

http://www.meade.com/support/telewrk.html

http://www.lsstnr.com/FluoriteAdv.htm

Refracting Telescopes:

Refracting telescopes are used to view images of the moon, planets, star clusters and general sky gazing. However, they tend to be smaller in aperture than other types so they are not as good for viewing fainter sky objects such as galaxies and nebulae.

Components:

Hollow Tube – Provides the structure of the telescope

Convex Objective Lens – Bends light source into the tube, and then magnifies

and focuses it at one point.

Eyepiece – The light focused then disperses through this lens

The Twin Keck Telescopes

http://www2.keck.hawaii.edu:3636/realpublic/gen_info/kiosk/#telescopes

Situated upon the dormant volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the twin Keck Telescopes are the largest reflecting telescopes in the world. The telescopes each have a primary mirror 10 meters in diameter and composed of 36 hexagonal segments that work in complete coordination to form a single piece of reflective glass. The telescopes were made possible by over $140 million funded by the W.M. Keck Foundation. These telescopes are reflection telescopes weighing about 270 tons a piece and are encased in massive domes. Each day, the dome must be chilled by massive air conditioners to prevent warping of the infrastructure due to temperature fluctuations. The telescopes in the domes are kept at below freezing temperatures and are used in shifts of 1-4 nights. Scientists use the Keck Telescopes to seek answers to questions such as: